All Chapters of Awakening - Eve Of Eden: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

Why? Can he not be a little bit gross in some way?He really is ruining me and making it nearly impossible to forget him.“I’m twenty-six. I’m joking… your face, though. Totally worth it.”“You’re an asshole,” I slap at his arm as he dodges away and swipe for another attempt, even though he’s out of range. Annoyed by him and not amused that he thinks mocking me is so great.“Yeah… easier to forget me when you leave.” He points out, tone falling to cold once more, and the shift is almost visible. It’s like a switch from hot to cold, as though he decided enough is enough. It gets too friendly, and he closes down. Pushes me further away and pulls the wall right back up. It’s in his tone, his manner, and his unnecessarily harsh statement.“Why do you do that? Why bother talking to me and acting normal only to close down a minute later and act like a jerk again&h

It both confuses me and irks me, and I decide not to waste energy on it. Pulling myself up to redress and haul my bag and cape on. I pull out some dried meat snacks to chew on while I walk and head in the direction I know the mountain lies. Everything aches, every muscle and bone is strained and tired. I feel grubby and uncomfortable, since I haven't been able to shower since leaving the mansion.Distant booms and what sounds like a snapping tree draw my attention, causing me to pause and stare off in what I think is the direction it came. The noise carries through the wind, so it's not close. And listen with intent. Confused as to what it could be.I hear it again. A slow rumble and then a boom. More cracking, so that this time birds rise and scurry from trees, loudly flapping into the sky with cries of alarm. Whatever it is, it's coming from the direction I am heading, and I wonder if it's Kaelin or the reason he left. Maybe something in his domain needed attention.

“It’s a kill-or-be-killed kind of world, Eden. You either learn to work with what you’ve got or go back to your mansion and hide behind your magic and your mommy to keep you safe.” Kaelin's voice is devoid of any remorse, and I spin on him, eyes blurred with moisture and face heated with exertion and heartbreak. Shaking all over from what just went down. My legs are weak and trembling, and barely holding me up.I knew he was a bastard, but I didn’t think he would stand back and watch me die.His cold-hearted assholeness ignites my fury and pain, and I jump to my feet and ram straight for him, fuelled by betrayal and rage and genuine fear from what just happened. Running straight into him and pounding fists hard on his chest in a bid to beat him. I let rip and throw all of my anger, pain, and hate at him. He doesn’t even try to dodge or stop my full-speed fly at him.“How could you? I trusted you…” I scream a

I’m jolted awake by something that makes me shoot upright with disoriented panic, and I have no idea where I am or what’s going on. I was so caught up in a dream of being home, safe in bed, only to be jerked awake in a cold, pitch-black, damp bush with eerie noises and screeching all around me.It’s like being dunked into icy water, a shock to the system, and I sit still and afraid as I try to adjust to sight and sense. The forests feel alive, and I haul my dropped hessian bag to my face and utter my spell of safety and veiled cover. Needing it as my only shield while trying to get my bearings.Noise from every angle, movement, and chaos seems to fall around me, amplified by the deep darkness and the lack of visuals. Rustling, cracking… it seems like even the floor is alive, and I'm aware of dark, large shadows and shapes shooting by at speed in the distance. Close enough to make me hold my breath and sit like a statue, but far enough that they

I hit the water with the force of a cannonball and get my senses slapped right out of me. The pain in my foot dulled with the sudden, complete bodily jerk and dousing of iciness. I'm clinging desperately to the dagger and trying to dig it into anything solid as I'm tossed and turned like wet laundry. My cape wraps around me, and my bag pulls me down like it's now full of rocks.Gasping for air anytime I'm churned up to the surface before being rolled and pulled again. My clothing wraps my arms and legs down, tangling me in, and I'm pushed along, unable to loosen myself much. I try fighting, swimming, thrashing out, and yet I'm at the mercy of this powerful beast, and I can’t get any purchase. All I can do is keep gasping to the surface and dragging in as much as I can before I sink into icy darkness, over and over. Untangling and tangling up in my layers of fabric.